DENVER -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points, Chet Holmgren added 25 as part of a stellar all-around performance and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 102-87 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.

Holmgren proved to be a handful on both ends of the floor. He tied a career high with 14 rebounds, and had five assists and blocked four shots. Reserve Aaron Wiggins added 15 points.

It was an important divisional game right out of the gate. The Thunder and Nuggets both finished 57-25 last season, with the Thunder earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference by virtue of a tiebreaker.

Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for Denver.

Jokic's point guard partner, Jamal Murray, had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Christian Braun added 16 points. while Aaron Gordon, fresh off signing a new contract extension, added 12 points. Denver was 7 of 39 on 3-pointers.

Takeaways

Thunder: Holmgren can run the floor with authority. In the third quarter, he blocked a shot by Jokic, ran the down the court, took a pass and and threw down a powerful dunk.

Nuggets: The Thunder's bench outscored the Nuggets' reserves 25-16. New addition Russell Westbrook had six points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Key moment

Before the game, Denver players and coaches paid tribute to the late Dikembe Mutombo by wearing T-shirts emblazoned with an image of the big man’s iconic finger wag. In the first quarter, the team showed a video tribute celebrating Mutombo’s big accomplishments on and off the court. Then, fans stood and applauded for 55 seconds — his number. Mutombo died last month of brain cancer. He was 58.

Key stat

At an average of 24 years, 148 days, the Thunder opened the regular season with the youngest roster in the league.

Up next

The Thunder are at Chicago on Saturday night, while the Nuggets host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

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Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Jamal Murray (Isaiah Joe gains possession)	0	0
11:41	Nikola Jokic blocks Chet Holmgren 's 6-foot two point shot	0	0
11:38	Chet Holmgren offensive rebound	0	0
11:37	Chet Holmgren lost ball turnover (Christian Braun steals)	0	0
11:36	Jalen Williams personal foul	0	0
11:30	Nikola Jokic makes 24-foot three point jumper (Aaron Gordon assists)	3	0
11:17	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses two point shot	3	0
11:16	Aaron Gordon defensive rebound	3	0
11:02	Christian Braun bad pass (Luguentz Dort steals)	3	0
10:55	Luguentz Dort misses running pullup jump shot	3	0
10:51	Christian Braun defensive rebound	3	0
10:47	Michael Porter Jr. misses 25-foot three point jumper	3	0
10:46	Thunder defensive team rebound	3	0
10:36	Isaiah Joe makes 6-foot two point shot (Jalen Williams assists)	3	2
10:20	Michael Porter Jr. misses 24-foot three point jumper	3	2
10:19	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	3	2
10:12	Jalen Williams makes 25-foot three point jumper (Chet Holmgren assists)	3	5
9:52	Jalen Williams shooting foul	3	5
9:52	Jamal Murray makes free throw 1 of 2	4	5
9:52	Jamal Murray makes free throw 2 of 2	5	5
9:36	Jalen Williams bad pass (Christian Braun steals)	5	5
9:26	Christian Braun makes layup (Jamal Murray assists)	7	5
9:18	Chet Holmgren misses 23-foot three point jumper	7	5
9:16	Christian Braun defensive rebound	7	5
8:59	Jamal Murray misses 13-foot two point shot	7	5
8:57	Nuggets offensive team rebound	7	5
8:57	Luguentz Dort loose ball foul	7	5
8:47	Christian Braun misses 23-foot three point jumper	7	5
8:44	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound	7	5
8:24	Christian Braun blocks Isaiah Joe 's 26-foot three point jumper	7	5
8:20	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	7	5
8:18	Aaron Gordon makes two point shot (Nikola Jokic assists)	9	5
8:08	Jalen Williams bad pass (Aaron Gordon steals)	9	5
8:04	Jamal Murray makes two point shot (Aaron Gordon assists)	11	5
7:47	Luguentz Dort makes 2-foot jump bank shot (Chet Holmgren assists)	11	7
7:47	Nikola Jokic shooting foul	11	7
7:47	Luguentz Dort makes free throw 1 of 1	11	8
7:38	Jamal Murray makes 25-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	14	8
7:28	Chet Holmgren misses 26-foot three point jumper	14	8
7:25	Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound	14	8
7:19	Aaron Gordon bad pass (Chet Holmgren steals)	14	8
7:14	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	14	8
7:10	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	14	8
7:02	Christian Braun makes layup (Nikola Jokic assists)	16	8
6:45	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 10-foot two point shot	16	10
6:26	Nikola Jokic makes driving layup (Jamal Murray assists)	18	10
6:26	Thunder Full timeout	18	10
6:26	Cason Wallace enters the game for Jalen Williams	18	10
6:12	Cason Wallace misses 26-foot three point jumper	18	10
6:10	Jamal Murray defensive rebound	18	10
6:07	Luguentz Dort personal foul	18	10
6:00	Chet Holmgren blocks Michael Porter Jr. 's 1-foot dunk	18	10
6:00	Michael Porter Jr. offensive rebound	18	10
6:00	Michael Porter Jr. steps out of bounds turnover	18	10
6:00	Julian Strawther enters the game for Christian Braun	18	10
6:00	Russell Westbrook enters the game for Jamal Murray	18	10
5:48	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lost ball turnover (Nikola Jokic steals)	18	10
5:47	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander personal foul	18	10
5:47	Nikola Jokic misses free throw 1 of 2	18	10
5:47	Nuggets offensive team rebound	18	10
5:47	Nikola Jokic makes free throw 2 of 2	19	10
5:33	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 25-foot three pointer	19	13
5:14	Julian Strawther misses 26-foot three point jumper	19	13
5:10	Luguentz Dort defensive rebound	19	13
5:00	Chet Holmgren makes 11-foot pullup jump shot (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	19	15
4:49	Michael Porter Jr. makes dunk (Russell Westbrook assists)	21	15
4:31	Isaiah Joe makes 16-foot step back jumpshot	21	17
4:11	Russell Westbrook bad pass (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steals)	21	17
4:08	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses two point shot	21	17
4:06	Cason Wallace offensive rebound	21	17
4:05	Cason Wallace misses tip shot	21	17
4:04	Cason Wallace offensive rebound	21	17
4:03	Cason Wallace misses two point shot	21	17
4:03	Chet Holmgren offensive rebound	21	17
4:03	Chet Holmgren makes two point shot	21	19
4:03	Michael Porter Jr. shooting foul	21	19
4:03	Nuggets Full timeout	21	19
4:03	Peyton Watson enters the game for Aaron Gordon	21	19
4:03	Ousmane Dieng enters the game for Luguentz Dort	21	19
4:03	Alex Caruso enters the game for Isaiah Joe	21	19
4:03	Chet Holmgren makes free throw 1 of 1	21	20
3:45	Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper	21	20
3:44	Thunder defensive team rebound	21	20
3:28	Ousmane Dieng misses 25-foot three point jumper	21	20
3:27	Thunder offensive team rebound	21	20
3:27	Jamal Murray enters the game for Michael Porter Jr.	21	20
3:25	Ousmane Dieng makes 22-foot three point jumper (Alex Caruso assists)	21	23
3:14	Nikola Jokic makes 1-foot dunk (Russell Westbrook assists)	23	23
2:58	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 2-foot two point shot	23	25
2:45	Peyton Watson misses 24-foot three point jumper	23	25
2:42	Ousmane Dieng defensive rebound	23	25
2:34	Julian Strawther shooting foul	23	25
2:34	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses free throw 1 of 2	23	25
2:34	Thunder offensive team rebound	23	25
2:34	Dario Saric enters the game for Nikola Jokic	23	25
2:34	Aaron Wiggins enters the game for Chet Holmgren	23	25
2:34	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 2 of 2	23	26
2:18	Jamal Murray misses 24-foot three point jumper	23	26
2:13	Jamal Murray offensive rebound	23	26
2:13	Jalen Williams enters the game for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	23	26
2:13	Jamal Murray out of bounds lost ball turnover	23	26
2:01	Jalen Williams misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	23	26
1:58	Peyton Watson defensive rebound	23	26
1:42	Julian Strawther misses two point shot	23	26
1:42	Peyton Watson offensive rebound	23	26
1:42	Peyton Watson misses tip shot	23	26
1:42	Nuggets offensive team rebound	23	26
1:28	Jamal Murray misses 13-foot two point shot	23	26
1:25	Alex Caruso defensive rebound	23	26
1:09	Aaron Wiggins makes 9-foot two point shot	23	28
48.1	Alex Caruso shooting foul	23	28
48.1	Russell Westbrook misses free throw 1 of 2	23	28
48.1	Nuggets offensive team rebound	23	28
48.1	Isaiah Joe enters the game for Cason Wallace	23	28
48.1	Russell Westbrook makes free throw 2 of 2	24	28
32.1	Ousmane Dieng makes 23-foot three point jumper (Isaiah Joe assists)	24	31
12.1	Jamal Murray out of bounds bad pass turnover	24	31
12.1	Christian Braun enters the game for Julian Strawther	24	31
3.0	Peyton Watson blocks Jalen Williams 's 13-foot pullup jump shot	24	31
3.0	Russell Westbrook defensive rebound	24	31
0.1	Jamal Murray misses 53-foot three point shot	24	31
0.1	Nuggets offensive team rebound	24	31
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	24	31

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Ball Arena

Denver, CO

Date & Time

2:00 AM, October 25, 2024

Coverage

TNT

Attendance

19,786

Referees

J.T. Orr, Kevin Scott, Danielle Scott

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

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Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren lead Thunder to 102-87 win over Nuggets in season opener

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